Lifeboat



C. BERTSCHERT. mason. APPHCATION FILED MAY 3, 192i.

L48K387, Patented Nov. 28, 1922 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

ATTORNEYS 'C. BERTSCHERT.

LIFEBOAT.

APPHCATION FILED MAY 3. 1921.

1A3Z387, Patented Nov. 28, 1922 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- WI TNESSES MIW ' as INVENIOB GBE'ETScI-IEer Ana/mm Patented Nov. 21?), 12 22,

1 m e #11) WWW W 'y-e ew; st l i all t t later.

LIFEBOAT.

Application filed May 3,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHRISTOPHER BERT- soHnRr, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and resident of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Dominion of Canada, have invented a new and Improved Lifeboat, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to a life boat, and aims to provide a device of this character whichshall be capable of accommodating a great number of persons, and be able to weather any condition of sea.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a life boat which may readily be accommodated upon the decks or other superstructure of a vessel, and which in the event of the vessel foundering will float clear of its supporting structure, at the same time being able to accommodate a great amount of passengers.

A further object of my invention is the construction of a device of the character stated, which shall be capable of being inaneuvered, by means of the occupants, so that a given course may be followed.

still another object of this invention is the construction of a life boat which shall be extremely sea-worthy and in which the necessary amount of air will be permitted to enter the same, although the ingress of water will be prevented.

Still further objects of myinvention will appear in the annexed specification, taken in connection with the drawings, which later present one practical embodiment thereof, and in which;

Figure 1 is a sectional side view taken along the line 1-1 in Figure 2.

Figure 2-is a sectional plan view taken along the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional side view of the super-structure of my device and along the line 8-8 of Figure 1. a I

Figure 1 isa sectional plan view of. the same and taken along the line 1- 1 of Fig ure 3, and

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of a certain detail of construction.

Referring now more particularly to Fig ure 1, it will be seen that the reference numeral 10 indicates the upper or controlling compartment, and 11 the passenger compartment, which are connected together by means of a reduced portion 12, the entire structure presenting a spool-like appearance 1921. Serial No. 468,486.

for a purpose hereinafter more fully specified.

With a view of permitting of the maneuvering of the life boat, 1 preferably employ a pair of propellers 13 which be rotated by means of any suitable type of gearing 1%, which is engaged by a co-operat ing gear 15 secured'to a shaft 16, preferably having its lower end extending into the passenger compartment 11, and being pro-.

vided at this point with any suitable type of operating handle 17.

Thus a rotation of the propellers 13 may be efiected by rotating the handle 17 and this will obviouslyresult in the entire body being driven through the water. To also permit of the same being steered,-it will be noted that the propellers may be swung by means of shafts such as 18, preferably operated by means of a single control 19. The outer ends of these shafts are connectedbv universal oints 20 to the shafts 21, support in the propellers 13. Thusthe propellers may be swung synchronously, and it will be obvious that this will permit offlthe entire boat beingsteered.

It will be obvious that the peculiar form of the body will cause the same to only respond to the wave action sluggishly in that the submerged lower portion, having its outer walls oval-shaped will present a wedge like head to the impacting waves, breaking and deflecting the waves at angles to the vertical axis of the body, thereby creating around the body angular forces which obviously will tend to counter-act theforce of the approaching waves. With a View of increasing this steadying force, it will also be noted that the compartment 11 is preferably provided with bulk heads 22, and that the outer walls are formed at points beyond these bulk heads with openings 28. These openings will permit of the entrance of sea water and a movement thereof with respect to the boat and this surging ofythe water through the pockets will obviously act as a drag to prevent an undue amount ofrising and falling of the entire boat.

It will be noted that any suitable accommodations may be provided for the passengers within the compartment 11, but I preferably utilize substantially semicircular rows of seats 24, which are preferably grouped around a tank 25- positioned within the compartment 11. This tank. serves to maintain the center of gravity, and to cause the boat to ride upon an even keel. Partitions 26 divide the tank in a plurality of smaller tanks for a purpose hereinafter more fully described.

These latter tanks are all filled prior to the voyage, with fresh water through any suitable type of feed pipe 27, connected by valve controlled branch pipes 28 to each of the subsidiary tanks, care being taken that the valve 29 has been previously closed.

In use, water is drawn for human consumption from the lowermost of the compartments within the main tank 25 through faucets 30, it being noted that an air cock 31 may have been previously opened facilitating this draining. Upon the lowermost tank having been emptied, it will be obvious that the ballast provided by the water within the same will have been eliminated, and with a view of replacing this ballast the valve 29 may now be opened, and the outer end of the feed pipe 27 communicating with the sea by means of opening 27, will permit of the inrush of water into the empty compartment, upon the valve within the branch pipe 28 associated with this compartment having been opened. This operation is continued as each subsidiary tank is emptied, and it will be obvious that by this expedient no difficulty will be encountered incident to the elimination of the ballast provided by the water within the tank 25.

Suitable stairs 32 may extend from the compartment 11 through the reduced portion 12 into the compartment 10, thus permitting operators to pass from the observation turret to the various portions of the boat, and reference being had to Figures 1, 3 and 4 it will be obvious that the officer within the turret 33 will have a clear, radial vision through the dead eyes 34.

To now provide means which will insure a thorough ventilation of the boat without any danger of the seas entering the same. attention is invited to Figures 3 to 5, and in these views it will be noted that the reference numeral denotes a series of compart ments, which have one of their ends open, as at 36 and communicating with the outer atmosphere, their inner ends 37 being open to the interior of the turret 33.

Positioned within each of the compartments 35 are a series of float control valves 38 the movement of which may be adjusted by means of arms 39 and set crews etO. Obviously, as has been shown in Figure 5 air will be free to flow from the exterior to the interior of the boat, and should the sea dash through the opening 36 it will be obvious that the water will lift the float associated with the valve 38 and result in a seating of the latter effectually preventing the entrance of water into the boat.

Thus it will be appreciated that a boat embodying my improved construction may be launched with ordinary derricks, if this is desired, subsequent to the passengers having enteredthe same, through the turret or any other desirable type of entrance (not shown). Upon the boat striking the surface of the water it will be obvious that should the same strike at an angle, the lower compartment being heavier, the boat will automatically right itself. In this connection it is to be noted that the controlling compartment 10 is the buoyant chamber, and that the lower passenger compartment acts as a stabilizing chamber. Thus the upper compartment exerts a buoyant action, and the reduced portion 21 will serve to at all times retain the lower or stabilizing compartment in a vertical line with respect to the same, and it will be obvious from the foregoing, that it will be impossible for the boat to capsize, the stabilizing action of the lower compartment being further insured by means of the fresh water within the main tank, or the sea water displacing said fresh water.

it will also be obvious that a life boat constructed in accordance with my invention will withstand collisions, wave poundings, etc, without any danger of overturning, aside from the fact that the relatively large buoyant and stabilizing action exerted b this structure will further insure the safety of the passengers.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that I have provided a life boat which shall be capable of accommodating a great number of passengers, and which shall incorporate extremely easy riding qualities, aside from the fact that the same is susceptible to be maneuvered if this is desired.

Furthermore thorough ventilation will be insured without any danger of water entering the boat, and the ballast provided by the fresh water normally within the tank 25 will be readily disposed by means of the sea water in the manner hereinbefore described.

Obviously numerous modifications of structure might readily be resorted to without in the least departing from the spirit of my invention, which I claim as:

l. A life boat presenting an enlarged upper and lower compartment, and a reduced portion connecting said compartments one to the other, rotatable shafts extending between said compartments and within the space provided ext-eriorly of said reduced portion, propellers rotatably secured to said shafts, means withinsaid lower compartment for rotating said propellers, and means within said upper compartment for permitting said shafts to be rotated.

2. A life boat including a plurality of tanks forming a ballast compartment, said tanks containing drinkable fluid, means attached to said tanks for drawingsaid drinkable fluid, pipes and valves interposed between each of said tanks, and the sea to optionally permit sea water to gravitationally enter said tanks when the same are emptied of their drinkable fluid, thereby maintaining the proper ballast weight within the body to insure its stability.

3. A life boat comprising a plurality of compartments superimposed on each other,

10 the central compartment being of a reduced diameter and having inwardly curved Walls, a plurality oi propellers arranged adjacent the outer surface of said reduced compartment and between said other compartments, a control arranged Within the uppermost compartment for directionally rotating said propellers, and means arranged within the lowermost compartment for operating said propellers.

CHRISTOPHER BERTSCHERT. 

